COMPLETE COVERAGE | FRONT LINES | AMERICA AT HOME | INTERACTIVES »

Mother: Afghan kidnappers release son

Despite family claims, FBI denies involvement

HARVEST, Alabama (CNN) -- The mother of Clark Russell Bowers, the Alabama man who last week told relatives he'd been kidnapped in Afghanistan, said her son was freed Friday and will be home within days.

Carol Bowers, who said kidnappers had tortured her son with hot rods, said the FBI helped her son, and that he was in the agency's care.

The FBI denied her claim. "That's absolutely not true" that Bowers was in the agency's care, a bureau official said Friday.

"We have no information about any claims being made by this family," the official said. "There's a lot of head-scratching" over the reported incident, the official said.

CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

Bowers flew from Istanbul, Turkey, to Kabul, Afghanistan, earlier this month, sources at the Pentagon said. He called his wife Amanda on January 9 and told her that he had been kidnapped, sources said.

Amanda Bowers telephoned the U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs this week to report he had been kidnapped, a State Department official said, adding that the department was taking the report "very seriously."

However, the family's reports have not been confirmed -- by the State Department, the FBI or independently.

Clark Bowers called his wife a second time to arrange a $25,000 ransom payment, Amanda Bowers said.

It is U.S. policy not to pay ransom, according to the State Department. Bowers' wife said the family "never asked the government to pay a single penny."

"Any money that has been arranged has been arranged by us privately, and we would never use state funds to do that," Amanda Bowers said Thursday.

Carol Bowers, who said her son had 20 holes in his body where kidnappers had tortured him, would not say if a ransom had been paid for her son's release. "He has great loyalty to those who helped him," she said.

"I know you all have a lot of questions about all of the things that have surfaced in the last few days," Amanda Bowers told reporters. "They will be answered in due time, but now is not the time."

"I can't wait for Clark to get back and be able to share with you the fantastic experiences he had," Carol Bowers said.

A State Department official said Friday that Bowers in now in Karachi, Pakistan.

Clark Bowers appeared on a Dallas television station shortly after returning from a trip to Afghanistan on October 3.